3 ms·

In England, the Right to Daylight Can Be a Legal Matter

11 points by politelemon 8y ago

hprotagonist 8y ago
Compare "Bartleby the Scrivener" (1853): My chambers were up stairs at No. — Wall-street. At one end they looked upon the white wall of the interior of a spacious sky-light shaft, penetrating the building from top to bottom. This view might have been considered rather tame than otherwise, deficient in what landscape painters call “life.” But if so, the view from the other end of my chambers offered, at least, a contrast, if nothing more. In that direction my windows commanded an unobstructed view of a lofty brick wall, black by age and everlasting shade; which wall required no spy-glass to bring out its lurking beauties, but for the benefit of all near-sighted spectators, was pushed up to within ten feet of my window panes. Owing to the great height of the surrounding buildings, and my chambers being on the second floor, the interval between this wall and mine not a little resembled a huge square cistern. One of the office spaces I'm in frequently is of this sort, and "I would prefer not to" is a recurring phrase in my head...
- User23 8y ago
  "I would prefer not to" is a magical phrase that will work wonders in all kinds of situations. It can be adapted with minimal effort too. For example I never refuse treatment from a doctor, I simply inform them that I would prefer not to receive that intervention. Likewise if a cop asks me why I think he pulled me over, I prefer not to speculate. Etc etc.
  - xfitm3 8y ago
    “I prefer not to speculate”. Great advice.
phkahler 8y ago
Cool, can they sue the airlines for making it cloudy and/or causing climate change? https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2601/nasa-test-jet-biofuel-may-reduce-climate-warming-clouds/ https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2601/nasa-test-jet-biofuel-may...
mc32 8y ago
This law came into being at a time when energy was dear and land relatively abundant. Now with cheap artificial lighting some of this is moot. Of course natural light is nicer in many ways, but in a big building you’ll need artificial lighting regardless. Plus, vertical growth is better land use than ever growing sprawl.
- User23 8y ago
  > Plus, vertical growth is better land use than ever growing sprawl. No, it isn't "better," it just has a different set of trade-offs.

11 points by politelemon 8y ago

Compare "Bartleby the Scrivener" (1853): My chambers were up stairs at No. — Wall-street. At one end they looked upon the white wall of the interior of a spacious sky-light shaft, penetrating the building from top to bottom. This view might have been considered rather tame than otherwise, deficient in what landscape painters call “life.” But if so, the view from the other end of my chambers offered, at least, a contrast, if nothing more. In that direction my windows commanded an unobstructed view of a lofty brick wall, black by age and everlasting shade; which wall required no spy-glass to bring out its lurking beauties, but for the benefit of all near-sighted spectators, was pushed up to within ten feet of my window panes. Owing to the great height of the surrounding buildings, and my chambers being on the second floor, the interval between this wall and mine not a little resembled a huge square cistern. One of the office spaces I'm in frequently is of this sort, and "I would prefer not to" is a recurring phrase in my head...

User23 8y ago
"I would prefer not to" is a magical phrase that will work wonders in all kinds of situations. It can be adapted with minimal effort too. For example I never refuse treatment from a doctor, I simply inform them that I would prefer not to receive that intervention. Likewise if a cop asks me why I think he pulled me over, I prefer not to speculate. Etc etc.
- xfitm3 8y ago
  “I prefer not to speculate”. Great advice.

phkahler 8y ago

Cool, can they sue the airlines for making it cloudy and/or causing climate change? https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2601/nasa-test-jet-biofuel-may-reduce-climate-warming-clouds/ https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2601/nasa-test-jet-biofuel-may...

mc32 8y ago

This law came into being at a time when energy was dear and land relatively abundant. Now with cheap artificial lighting some of this is moot. Of course natural light is nicer in many ways, but in a big building you’ll need artificial lighting regardless. Plus, vertical growth is better land use than ever growing sprawl.

User23 8y ago
> Plus, vertical growth is better land use than ever growing sprawl. No, it isn't "better," it just has a different set of trade-offs.